Demoralization in breast cancer survivors.

IF 2.9 3区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Frontiers in Psychology Pub Date : 2025-07-11 eCollection Date: 2025-01-01 DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1523164

Annekathrin Sender, Andreas Hinz, Laura Broemer, Anja Mehnert-Theuerkauf, Bernhard Strauß, Susanne Briest, Jenny Rosendahl

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective: Demoralization is a state of existential distress and loss of meaning in life and often associated with poor quality of life in cancer survivors. This study aimed to test psychometric properties of the Demoralization Scale-II (DS-II), to compare demoralization in breast cancer survivors with scores obtained in the general population in Germany, and to identify prognostic factors for demoralization and associations with spiritual well-being and other related variables.

Methods: We analyzed a sample of 162 female breast cancer survivors (mean time since diagnosis 2.5 years) using the DS-II and a set of validated questionnaires measuring distress (DT), anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), fatigue (MFI-10), spiritual well-being (FACIT-Sp) posttraumatic growth (PTGI) as well as meaning and purpose (LAP-R). The DS-II mean scores of the survivor's sample were compared with those of the general population. We performed t-tests, effect sizes, Cronbach's alpha, correlations and a confirmatory factor analysis to achieve the study objectives.

Results: The DS-II showed excellent psychometric properties, with an internal consistency of α = 0.92 for the total scale and α = 0.88 for the meaning and purpose subscale as well as α = 0.85 for the distress and coping subscale. Demoralization was highly correlated with the experience of meaning and peace (r = -0.79), sense of existential vacuum (r = -0.78), anxiety (r = 0.72), and depression (r = 0.70), while the correlations were lower for distress (r = 0.37) and post-traumatic growth (r = -0.19). The mean scores of the breast cancer survivors were markedly higher than those of the general population on both subscales distress and coping (d = 0.71) and meaning and purpose (d = 0.34).

Discussion: The results show that demoralization is prevalent in cancer survivors and should be understood as a proper construct that has multiple relationships with other variables of mental health. This underlines the need to establish evidence-based support programs that focus on demoralization and address these links.

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乳腺癌幸存者的士气低落。

目的：士气低落是一种生存压力和生活意义丧失的状态，通常与癌症幸存者的生活质量低下有关。本研究旨在测试士气低落量表ii （DS-II）的心理测量特性，比较德国乳腺癌幸存者的士气低落与普通人群的士气低落，并确定士气低落的预后因素以及与精神健康和其他相关变量的关联。方法：我们使用DS-II和一套有效的问卷来分析162名女性乳腺癌幸存者（自诊断以来平均时间为2.5 年），包括痛苦（DT）、焦虑（GAD-7）、抑郁（PHQ-9）、疲劳（MFI-10）、精神幸福感（FACIT-Sp）、创伤后成长（PTGI）以及意义和目的（lp - r）。将幸存者样本的DS-II平均分数与一般人群的DS-II平均分数进行比较。我们进行了t检验、效应量、Cronbach’s alpha、相关性和验证性因子分析来实现研究目标。结果：DS-II量表的内部一致性为α = 0.92，意义与目的子量表的内部一致性为α = 0.88，苦恼与应对子量表的内部一致性为α = 0.85。道德败坏是高度相关的经验意义和和平(r = -0.79),存在感真空(r = -0.78)、焦虑(r = 0.72),和抑郁(r = 0.70),而痛苦的相关性较低(0.37 r = )和创伤后成长(r = -0.19)。乳腺癌幸存者在痛苦和应对（d = 0.71）和意义和目的（d = 0.34）两项量表上的平均得分均显著高于一般人群。讨论：结果表明，士气低落在癌症幸存者中普遍存在，应该被理解为一种与心理健康的其他变量有多重关系的适当结构。这突出表明需要建立以证据为基础的支持方案，重点关注士气低落和解决这些联系。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Frontiers in Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-

CiteScore

5.30

自引率

13.20%

发文量

7396

审稿时长

14 weeks

期刊介绍： Frontiers in Psychology is the largest journal in its field, publishing rigorously peer-reviewed research across the psychological sciences, from clinical research to cognitive science, from perception to consciousness, from imaging studies to human factors, and from animal cognition to social psychology. Field Chief Editor Axel Cleeremans at the Free University of Brussels is supported by an outstanding Editorial Board of international researchers. This multidisciplinary open-access journal is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians and the public worldwide. The journal publishes the best research across the entire field of psychology. Today, psychological science is becoming increasingly important at all levels of society, from the treatment of clinical disorders to our basic understanding of how the mind works. It is highly interdisciplinary, borrowing questions from philosophy, methods from neuroscience and insights from clinical practice - all in the goal of furthering our grasp of human nature and society, as well as our ability to develop new intervention methods.